It was going to happen eventually. With respect, I don’t agree. There are perfectly legitimate reasons why Elon Musk is not to be trusted, and there’s far more to it than the mere fact that he’s a billionaire. To begin with, he manipulated Twitter’s share price by delaying an announcement that he had acquired over 5% ownership in the company by March 14. And he didn’t file the papers for it. This goes against the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which requires that they be notified when a personal stake in a company surpasses 5%.
More to the point, his assertion that he wants to restore freedom of speech seems to be only directed at Twitter’s moderation policies; during a recent TED talk, he didn't express much interest in worldwide internet censorship, such as in Russia, Iran, and China. We cannot forget that, through Twitter, Musk made claims about COVID-19 that were factually incorrect. These would include: Touting the benefits of chloroquine, a drug that only works on malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis; claiming that COVID death statistics were manipulated by doctors for financial reasons; and that by the end of April 2020, there would be no new cases in the U.S.
Also through Twitter, Musk baselessly called British caver Vernon Unsworth a pedophile when he criticized a mini submarine Musk had invented, purportedly to help rescue the children trapped in the flooded Thailand cave back in 2018. It’s one thing to respond to criticism. It’s another thing entirely to accuse someone of something so serious and reprehensible with absolutely no proof.
Finally (although there are other examples), Musk has said that he would reverse Twitter’s ban on Donald Trump. True, Trump has said that he wouldn’t go back to Twitter, but that isn’t the point; it’s a matter of objective fact, not political ideology, that, during his Twitter days, Trump made claims that were so patently untrue that they truly did pose a danger to the American democratic system.
With free speech comes responsibility. The classic example is yelling “Fire!” in a crowded movie theater when no fire exists. Causing a panic over something that isn’t true is irresponsible and dangerous. Yes, Elon Musk is on the “New York Times” naughty list. In my opinion, he should be on everyone’s naughty list – especially the IRS’s, because even though his Tesla company indicated its 2021 foreign tax bill came to $839 million, its state tax bill was only $9 million, while its federal tax bill was zero. No, Tesla isn’t the only mega corporation guilty of restructuring U.S. tax laws for their own gain, but that’s a topic for another day.
My point wasn't that Elon is correct on all topics, or that he was kind and considerate. My point was about the way speech is treated differently from different points of view, and that Elon, upholding more traditional liberal values, views free speech as essential to democracy.
It was going to happen eventually. With respect, I don’t agree. There are perfectly legitimate reasons why Elon Musk is not to be trusted, and there’s far more to it than the mere fact that he’s a billionaire. To begin with, he manipulated Twitter’s share price by delaying an announcement that he had acquired over 5% ownership in the company by March 14. And he didn’t file the papers for it. This goes against the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which requires that they be notified when a personal stake in a company surpasses 5%.
More to the point, his assertion that he wants to restore freedom of speech seems to be only directed at Twitter’s moderation policies; during a recent TED talk, he didn't express much interest in worldwide internet censorship, such as in Russia, Iran, and China. We cannot forget that, through Twitter, Musk made claims about COVID-19 that were factually incorrect. These would include: Touting the benefits of chloroquine, a drug that only works on malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis; claiming that COVID death statistics were manipulated by doctors for financial reasons; and that by the end of April 2020, there would be no new cases in the U.S.
Also through Twitter, Musk baselessly called British caver Vernon Unsworth a pedophile when he criticized a mini submarine Musk had invented, purportedly to help rescue the children trapped in the flooded Thailand cave back in 2018. It’s one thing to respond to criticism. It’s another thing entirely to accuse someone of something so serious and reprehensible with absolutely no proof.
Finally (although there are other examples), Musk has said that he would reverse Twitter’s ban on Donald Trump. True, Trump has said that he wouldn’t go back to Twitter, but that isn’t the point; it’s a matter of objective fact, not political ideology, that, during his Twitter days, Trump made claims that were so patently untrue that they truly did pose a danger to the American democratic system.
With free speech comes responsibility. The classic example is yelling “Fire!” in a crowded movie theater when no fire exists. Causing a panic over something that isn’t true is irresponsible and dangerous. Yes, Elon Musk is on the “New York Times” naughty list. In my opinion, he should be on everyone’s naughty list – especially the IRS’s, because even though his Tesla company indicated its 2021 foreign tax bill came to $839 million, its state tax bill was only $9 million, while its federal tax bill was zero. No, Tesla isn’t the only mega corporation guilty of restructuring U.S. tax laws for their own gain, but that’s a topic for another day.
My point wasn't that Elon is correct on all topics, or that he was kind and considerate. My point was about the way speech is treated differently from different points of view, and that Elon, upholding more traditional liberal values, views free speech as essential to democracy.